Liquid fuel



v 30 oil or toppings,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH BLACK, OF SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA.

LIQUID FUEL.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH BLACK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Santa Barbara, in the county of Santa Barbara and State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Liquid Fuel, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to liquid fuel for internal combustion engines, and has for its general object to provide a fuel which may .be used as a substitute for gasolene; which, while capable of production at a cost below that of gasolene, will be more eflicient than the latter in the matter of power-development, mileage per gallon, freedom from carboni'zation, and ease of starting, particularly in cold weather. I accomplish the foregoing objects in and through the composition of matter and the process of producing the same to be described and claimed hereinafter.

In the production 'of my fuel, I employ a base consisting of an aliphatic hydro-carbon having a hydromatic reading not exceeding 50 Baum scale and which may in fact be as low as 7 to 14 on such scale. For this base, commercial kerosene, or what is known to the trade as distillate, or even stove may be employed. Where kerosene is used, the procedure will be as follows :I place within a still having water in the bottom thereof kerosene and commercial benzol in the proportions of 10 gallons of the former to one gallon of the latter. I then supply to the still, steam at a temperature of about 130 0., the steam being delivered into the water in the bottom of the still. The mixture of the hydro- 40 carbon base and benzolwill be distilled and the distillate will be collected to a point where the reading on the Baum scale is approximately whereupon the operation may be cut or stopped. If 100 gallons of this 50 distillate is desired, it may be obtained by employing 125 gallons of the kerosene and 12% gallons of the benzol, leaving about 37% gallons of residue in the still. Ithen add to this 50 distillate 5 gallons of gasolene (preferably of at least 72 test), '16 ounces of commercial ether, 100 ounces of acetone and 14; ounces of alcohol-preferably woo alcohol. The purpose of adding these ingredients is to lower the ignition point or flashing the case of kerosene, merely raising the tempoint, prevent the formation of Specification of Letters Patent. Pate ted N 30 1920 Application filed August 18', 1919. Serial No. 318,119.

carbon, and secure uniformity of ignition and of engine performance, without knockmg; and the. fuel thus obtained has proven to be more eflicient than commercial gasolene and to ignite more easily in cold Weather than the latter. I

Where it is desired to utilize all of the kerosene base, the temperature of the steam admitted to the still 'will be raised to about 180 C., w h1ch w1ll enable substantially'complete 'distlllation of the base to be secured. In such case, assuming that the same in- 1t1al quantlties of kerosene and benzol are used as before, there will be a total of 137% gallons of distlllate produced, 100 gallons of WlllCll would be about 50 Baum, but for the lowering of the reading by the additional 37% gallons. To render this distillate capable of successful use'with internal combustlon engines, I add to the same the amounts of gasolene, commercial ether, acetone, and alcohol, hereinbefore set forth for 100 gallons of 50 distillate. To overcome the lowering of the quality of the distillate due to the additlonal 37 4; gallons, I increase, for this additional liquid, by 50%, the per-- centage of gasolene, ether, acetone, and alcohol over and above the percentage employed for the 100 gallons of 50 distillate. With th1s change in proportions all of the kerosene base may be employed in the production of my fuel.

Where distillate, stove oil, or top pings are used as my base, I employ therewith the same proportions of benzol as in perature of the steam admitted to the still to a degree necessary to recover therefrom a distillate having a Baum reading of about 50".. For this purpose, the temperature may be about 220. The proportion of 50 distillate recovered from either of these other bases will be somewhat higher than in the case of kerosene, but the residue which remains will be worthless for the pur- 100 poses for which my fuel is intended.

One of the objects of distilling the base and the commercial benzol is to produce a distillate with which the other ingredients will mix properly for the production of the l? 1 1 fuel; another object is to secure in my fuel benzol in a practically commercially pure condition, thereby to preventcarbonization in the cylinders.

By employing steam admitted directly to 1 may be efliclently,

the still, and preferably to a body of water in the bottom of the latter, practically complete recovery of the products of distillation is assured; and the water of condensation from the steam can be and is readily separated and removed from the distillate.

The acetone serves to form a homogeneous and permanent mixture between the ether and the distillate; also between the alcohol and the distillate.

In practice, the ether is added to the acetone and mixed; then the alcohol is added to and admixed with this mixture. The mixture thus produced is added to the distillate and asolene, and these ingredients homogeneously and permanently mixed by passing air under pressure therethroug The acetone acts as carrying or mixing medium between the ether and the alcohol on the one hand and the distillate and gasolene on the other hand and forms a permanent and homogenecarbon liquid testing not to exceed 50 B';

with approximately 10% benzol, said distillate having a higher gravity test than'the aliphatic hydrocarbon, 5 gallons of gasolene, 16 ounces of ether, 100 ounces of acetone, and 14 ounces of alcohol.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature. JOSEPH BLACK. 

